The fazenda of Sapê is situated at the foot of the Serra de Santa Brida, near the entrance of a small valley, which is enclosed on both sides by the surrounding hills; the grounds belonging to it being well watered, and the soil rich, they are well adapted for the cultivation of the sugar cane, of which there are several large plantations. The greater part of the cane is converted into rum, for which there exists a greater demand than for sugar; rice and mandiocca also yield abundant crops. The whole of the property which Lieut. Lagoeira possesses, covers an area of about sixty-four square miles: it is divided into several fazendas for the rearing of cattle, which amount to about fourteen thousand head, the produce of which are principally sold to drovers, who take them down to Bahia. He was originally a drover, but becoming a great favourite of the former owner of the estate, he obtained his daughter in marriage; and the father dying soon after, the entire management of the fazenda fell into his hands. Being a man of a mild and benevolent disposition, and having received a good education, he is looked up to and respected by the inhabitants of all the surrounding country. During our residence at this fazenda, and the several times I visited it during my residence at Arrayas, I made several excursions in its neighbourhood. On these occasions I was always accompanied by Senhor Lagoeira, who was a keen sportsman; sometimes we went to an upland grassy plain, thinly covered with _Vellozia_ and _Diplusodon_, the latter, a beautiful little shrub, bearing a profusion of small rose-coloured flowers. On these dry plains are found plenty of a kind of quail, called Perdiz, which is a species of the genus _Tinamus_, very little smaller than the partridge of Europe. Senhor Lagoeira possessed several pointers, one of which always accompanied us, but not being well trained, many of the birds escaped. Sometimes we visited the valley behind the house, which in several places is swampy, and abounds in a large species of palm, called Cabeçudo,[12] the fruit of which forms the principal food of the large blue Maccaw, which is very common in this district. In the marshes of this valley the Boa Constrictor is often met with of considerable size; it is not uncommon throughout the whole province, particularly by the wooded margins of lakes, marshes, and streams. Sometimes they attain the enormous length of forty feet: the largest I ever saw was at this place, but it was not alive. Some weeks before our arrival at Sapê, the favourite riding horse of Senhor Lagoeira, which had been put out to pasture not far from the house, could not be found, although strict search was made for it all over the fazenda. Shortly after this, one of his vaqueiros, in going through the wood by the side of a small river, saw an enormous boa, suspended in the fork of a tree which hung over the water; it was dead, but had evidently been floated down alive by a recent